Feb. 12, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - University of Tennessee juniors Cody Hawn and Blake Forsythe continued to reel in the preseason honors on Friday, as SEBaseball.com released its preseason Southeastern Conference awards. Both Hawn and Forsythe were selected to the preseason All-SEC First Team, while Hawn was chosen as the league's hitter of the year.

In addition to their individual accolades, Hawn and Forsythe were tabbed as the SEC's top 1-2 offensive punch. Fellow classmate Matt Duffy, meanwhile, was ranked as the second-best newcomer in the league after transferring from Vermont following the 2009 campaign. As a team, Tennessee came in second on the web site's list of most powerful offensive squads in the conference.

Although the 2010 season has yet to start, Hawn has already earned quite a few additions for his résumé, having claimed Louisville Slugger First Team All-American accolades from Collegiate Baseball newspaper and third-team honors from both Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

As a sophomore in 2009, Hawn became just the 10th Vol to ever win the team Triple Crown, leading the Big Orange in batting average (.364), home runs (22), RBIs (81), hits (72), doubles (15) and slugging percentage (.773). Hawn's 22 homers were good for second on Tennessee's single-season list, while he also ranks in the top-10 for a season in RBI (third), total bases (ninth) and slugging percentage (seventh).

The hard-hitting lefty garnered second-team laurels on the 2009 All Ping! Baseball Team after collecting a team-best 22 multi-hit games as well as 21 multi-RBI games. Hawn batted .422 against right-handed pitchers and .381 with runners in scoring position, while hitting .321 in SEC play with 34 hits, nine home runs and 34 RBIs.

A local Knoxville product, Hawn spent this past summer playing with the Hyannis Mets in the prestigious Cape Cod League. The 5-11 first baseman was the team's top offensive threat, recording a stellar .375 batting average with four home runs and 14 RBIs in just 15 games.

Friday's award was the second of the preseason for Forsythe who was previously named a 2010 Ping! Baseball Preseason Second Team All-American. A Memphis, Tenn., native, he earned first-team All-SEC laurels from the league's coaches in 2009. The 6-2 catcher finished a summer-long stint with the USA Collegiate Baseball National Team last year, where he hit at a .293 clip with a pair of home runs and nine RBIs. He also walked 21 times in as many games, en route to an impressive .500 on-base percentage.

After only seeing action in 22 games as a freshman, Forsythe started 53 of 55 games behind the plate for Tennessee this past spring, turning in career numbers. He hit .347 with 68 hits, 15 home runs and 46 RBIs in addition to leading the team with 40 walks and a .486 on-base percentage and collecting 19 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games. He also finished the season on an 11-game hitting streak during which he went 19-for-40 (.475) with 10 RBIs, four doubles, three home runs and nine walks.

A transfer from the University of Vermont, Duffy was the 2009 America East Player of the Year and an honorable mention selection to the All Ping! Baseball National All-America Team after hitting .388 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs for the Catamounts in the program's final season before being discontinued.

The Volunteers will open the 2010 campaign at home with a three-game series against Xavier set to take place Feb. 19-21 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville.

For more information, including a complete list of the 2010 SEBaseball Preseason All-SEC teams, visit www.SEBaseball.Rivals.com.